1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to automatic clothes dryer appliances and particularly to the structure of a drum therein in which clothes are tumbled and exposed to temperature-conditioned air.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In conventional clothes drying appliances a drum in the form of a rigid, hollow cylinder which may be open at one or both ends is rotatably mounted within a dryer cabinet and driven by a motor through a large drive belt encompassing the perimeter of the drum and in frictional contact with the cylindrical sidewall of the drum about most of that perimeter. Bearing means such as, for example, wheels or roller bearings fixed to the dryer cabinet are provided to support the drum and facilitate its rotation. In such conventional dryers the shape of the drum is fixed, with its cylindrical diameter limited to that which will fit within the height and width of the cabinet. U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,409,997 (assigned to the assignee of the present invention) and 3,584,393 each show a rigid, cylindrical drum rotatably mounted at each end with respect to front and rear bulkheads of the dryer cabinet, the bulkheads forming front and rear walls for the drum with seals provided to prevent air leakage past the edges of the drum sidewall.